


the cat who basks in the sun

by orphan_account



Category: DMMd, DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel)
Genre: Abuse, Drug Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-09 13:44:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4351055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mink knew he'd made a mistake back then, but he'd never done anything about it, even though he had never forgotten, either. Just as Aoba and he think to settle down, things change for the worse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. cowardly lion

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a bit rough after not writing for a long while, and I'm not sure how long this will be, probably one/two more chapters. Keep in mind this has not been checked over by anyone else so there might be a couple mistakes that I haven't caught.

They fight again.

The blows he delivers to Aoba's face steadily increase in power, and just before he's like to pass out, Mink eases off. Aoba is still struggling, worming around underneath him, screaming when he can and lunging out to attack back whenever possible. One of his flailing punches hits him, and it knocks Mink's breath out for just a second; he slaps Aoba's cheek so hard his own palm stings and Aoba's head hits the floor with a thunk. The sudden silence is deafening, but it lingers far too long, and the previously fierce person underneath him goes still.

Aoba stops moving, all of the tension in him releasing at once. The hand he'd had wrapped in Mink's shirt slackens its grip and releases him, the other dropping to his side with a muffled thump. Mink wonders if he's given up, or has been knocked completely unconscious. Before he can reach to tilt Aoba's head toward him to examine whether or not there's life in his eyes, a chilly gaze meets his as Aoba turns back to him. 

He goes cold all over.

Aoba's grin is bloody; he'd bitten his tongue or his cheek when Mink had slapped him, and the look on his face is so out of place that it momentarily stuns him. He struggles to convince himself that things will be fine, even if they do not go exactly as he'd planned. 

But when he speaks there is still the underlying tone that is _Aoba_ , soft and sweet if not gentle and caring, but the deepness of it resonates inside of him, and a ringing begins in his ears. He realizes that this is a different person.

"Kuh, hah," He pants, and then he cackles, a terrifying sound, unearthly and hollow. A shiver runs through Mink all at once, and he becomes stone, unflinching even as this Aoba reaches for his face, caressing him in an almost tender way. "Kyahaha, hahaha, aha! So unkind! What a cruel beast! To beat an innocent kid like him... what's with that? Isn't that sort of cruelty just deranged?" His chiding tone conflicts with the wounds on his face, the bruises blooming on his body, and the red smile he wears. Mink cannot find it in himself to speak, and continues to just stare.

"Nothing?" His thumbs press under his eyes, tracing up and hovering over the soft flesh of his eyeball. His nail just barely graces over Mink's pupil before withdrawing, this time tracing his Adam's apple, threatening to twist into the soft spot there. "You're so tough... kuhahaha, so strong, what a strong man, beating up a kind, cute kid like that. Did you think he could fight back properly? Were you looking for a real fight? No, you weren't, were you?" His mocking tone slips into an angry drawl. "You were looking for me. Fumbling around in the dark, knocking things all over the place... ungraceful. And so impolite. Even now, after I've kindly admonished you, aren't you still acting like a brute?"

Power surges throughout Mink's body, and he struggles before he forces himself to relax, to just not fight it, sitting back on his haunches with a bare hint of hesitation. "Who are you?" He manages, voice gruff, thick. He swallows. That's his in his own power, at least.

"You should know that by now," Aoba sits up, crawls out from under Mink, and bounces to his feet, flashing another smile. He is so unlike the person he'd been just a minute ago that Mink can do little else but stare. He moves quickly, stretching and testing his limits. It's something that would be impossible for a normal person after sustaining those kinds of injuries. 

"You called me, so I came," Aoba continues to move as he talks, pulling off his coat and throwing it over the nearby couch, flipping his hair out and letting it fan out behind him, sighing in relief. "Ah. That's better. This guy has a terrible fashion sense, don't you think?" He looks down at himself, fixes his clothing back into place, then laughs at nothing, hopping around, almost comical. "I feel a bit sore. That's because of you, isn't it? Kuhahaha, you look so angry! Uwah! Feels like I'm in a cage with a lion, aha!" Aoba sweeps past him, hands tangling in his hair. Mink is rooted to the spot, still on his knees. He feels sick and cold and fights to gather himself together.

A hot breath on the back of his neck sends a shudder through him. "A lion that rages when uncontrolled is a lion without fangs in the face of his master. Ah," He yanks Mink back by his hair, and the most he can manage to do is to throw his hands behind him so he doesn't land flat on his back. "Isn't that it? When your prey bares his own teeth, your insides curdle like milk and you crawl away. Kuahaha! Mink, the cowardly lion!" Aoba relaxes all at once, the energy that had filled him up so suddenly before all but gone. "A lion with no teeth. A lion with no claws," He steps around to face Mink, placing his foot on his chest and shoving him onto his back. "How pathetic."

Mink forces himself up again, fighting the ringing in his head. A slow, pounding pain begins to throb throughout his entire body, but he grits his teeth and fights to speak. "I need you," He grunts with effort, standing up slowly, trying to regain some sort of dignity in the face of this person. "I need your help,"

Aoba looks bored, clearly unhappy Mink hadn't stayed down. He wipes at the blood around his mouth, scowling at the mess that comes away on his hand. "What kind of help? Did you want to use me for that again?" He makes an obscene gesture and bites his lower lip, mocking. 

"No," His throat feels tight. It grows more and more suffocating that every second passes with Aoba's expression twisting into further disgust. Mink hates himself just then, for what he'd done. "To destroy Toue. That's what you do. You destroy," He felt light headed.

"Why would I want to do that?" The invisible hands around his throat loosen their grip when Aoba smiles, and Mink sucks in a greedy breath of air. "To help you? Why? Why not just destroy you, here and now, if it's what I do? It'd be much more fun, and a lot quicker for me,"

"Because I can help you," Mink fights the thoughts that tug at the back of his mind, the instinctual scream that tells him to run away. "To claim Aoba permanently."

The smile that spreads across Aoba's face sends a prickling feeling all across Mink's body. He feels like he is being devoured, just then, scrutinized in a different way. He looks hungry, Mink thinks, but he's also interested now, and the aggression bleeds out of him while something else replaces it.

"You know how to tempt. But... how will you do that?" His voice is a lilt, breathy and high, excited. His steps are light, and he collapses against Mink's chest almost lovingly, hands splayed across his chest, cheek resting against his collar. "Tell me. Ah, I'm so curious. How is my weak little lion going to do that?"

"The same way I drew you out, here, just now. He'll be weak. And he'll keep growing weak. For you," Mink feels like a child, and he fumbles to place his hands on Aoba, palm pressed onto the small of his back, another stroking his arm. "You're stronger than him."

The Aoba in his arms narrows his eyes, looking up with a lopsided smile. It is thin and strained, and he realizes Aoba is irritated. "Hey. Really. You think I want to wake up with bruises all the time? It hurts, you know. Where you assaulted me. Where you kicked me. Where you punched me. Ah, it's _painful_. Do you think that he's that weak... weak enough, to be scratched and bitten like this without rebuke... do you think you're stronger than him?"

Mink realizes after a beat that this person is genuinely waiting for a response, and that the tension in the air has thickened. He swallows, uncomfortable. "I am."

"Hu...fufu, kuahaha!" Aoba slams on his chest with both hands, shoving away from Mink with a shrill screech of laughter. He stumbles away and lands flat on his ass, blinded by the sudden, ferocious pain in his head. "So arrogant! I'll accept that!" Every word feels like a jack hammer, slamming on the inside walls of his skull. "I'll let you try that out. Don't let me down, okay? But be kind, okay? You know this kid likes his lions tame, right?"

Mink manages to nod, forcing himself to look up at Aoba, who lingers in front of him. His slender hands come up to the sides of his face, thumbs circling his temples with increasing pressure. 

"Be my sweet, kind, tender little lion."

Aoba presses his lips to his cheek. He swallows, nods, and the world goes black.


	2. i'm wide awake, it's morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aoba is changing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still rough. Let me know what you think about the story. If anyone wants to check over my work before publication, I'd love some assistance fixing my mistakes.

Things start to change after that.

When Mink wakes next, it's in a cold bed with damp sheets, his clothes clinging to his skin; it's a sticky feeling that is profoundly uncomfortable. Aoba is sitting on the chair beside him, chin resting on his chest, lightly dozing. When Mink tries to swallow in an attempt to wet his dry throat, he nearly chokes on his saliva and sits up as a fit of coughs wracks his body. Aoba startles awake so violently at the noise that Mink would have thought he'd just been slapped, and that alone would have brought him to laugh if he weren't so busy choking. 

Aoba quickly provides something to soothe his throat, handing him a cold glass of water. He wonders briefly what might be in it, but realizes that the gentle Aoba wouldn't have the guts nor the resources to drug him; he downs it in one long swill, and Aoba silently takes the glass when Mink finishes it, eyes never leaving the floor.

This is clearly the Aoba he knows best, but Mink feels doubt creep up inside of his heart and he squints at Aoba, suspicious. It wouldn't be unusual for Aoba to fear running now, but sticking around so close was odd, especially after the previous night. He has to know why. He needs to push and prod and figure out everything. The air around Aoba is different, somehow, in a new and perplexing way. He feels resilient, even though his timid actions so far beg to differ. It's in his _aura_ , his scent.

"You didn't try to run this time," Mink throws the disgusting sheets off himself and slides to the edge of the bed, impatient, and very, very sore. "Why? When I caught you last, you seemed like you'd rather die than stick around me," He says.

Aoba seems flustered, clearly surprised that Mink would speak to him so directly. He meets his eyes and then can't seem to handle it and looks away as he answers. 

"I... it was my fault. You were bleeding... your mouth, eyes, and ears, they were all... bleeding, and... I hadn't meant to use it. I'm sorry," his apology is small, but far too kind. A perplexed anger bubbles up in the pit of Mink's stomach. He lets Aoba fidget in anticipation before he graces him with a response.

"Then you were acting the whole time," Mink knows that the answer is _no_ already, that the person who'd happily mocked him and callously laughed was not the same person in front of him now. "Or are you going to say you blacked out, and woke up with my blood on your hands?"

"I didn't black out!" Aoba shouts, and it surprises Mink enough that he doesn't reach out to land a blow for the insolence. "I felt everything. Hitting you. Laughing. Moving around so much that it felt like I was floating... it was like I was in a dream, and... you were just a black blur, just a fly, and I had to swat at you because the buzzing was so..." Aoba fiddles with the edge of his jacket. It's torn in a couple new places, Mink realizes, and not from the beatings he'd delivered. 

"It was so loud, and I didn't realize it was your voice until later, when I woke up and you were sprawled out on the floor," Mink blinks at him, clearly unbelieving. Aoba senses that, and shifts around on the chair, awkward. "I'm not lying. That's how I remember it. But... that's it. I don't know when my powers came into play," He mumbles.

"But you admit to using it on me," Mink snaps.

"I didn't mean to," Aoba blurts, hands twisted together, anxious. Mink realizes just then that Aoba is scared, and it isn't because of him. It does nothing to soothe his anger.

"And? What are you going to do about it, if you're so apologetic? Promise to never do it again, teary-eyed and sweet?" Mink leans into Aoba's space, baring his teeth. His head is still throbbing with a deep seated ache that will probably linger for days. The thought makes his nostrils flare, his blood beginning to boil. "That's just not going to work. Maybe you should try to make it up to me," With Mink's face so close to his, Aoba can't look away anymore; he faces him with an expression that twists from fearful, to nervous, to stubborn.

"I won't."

"Huh? Then what was that apology for? Words don't mean shit," Mink reaches for Aoba's hair and grabs on to his bangs, closest to the roots, shaking his head back and forth with a sudden violence. Aoba's teeth clack together noisily and he hisses, but remains defiant.

"Stop! It was for him. I hadn't meant to do it then, so - agh! Ouch, ow, stop, I'm apologizing now, so... stop!" Aoba tries throwing his weight forward in a shove, just enough to get him to let go, but Mink catches his arms easily, letting go of his hair and twisting his wrists backward instead. Aoba gasps in pain but keeps talking. "That doesn't - hu, agh! Doesn't mean I won't do it purposely, this time! So stop!"

Mink pauses for a second, weighing the threat. He allows himself a smile and grabs Aoba by his shoulders and throws him to the floor, stepping off the bed and over the cowering figure. Mink is weary, and his body aches in a strange way, but he's still easily able to overcome Aoba. 

"Your threats don't mean shit to me. If you want this to stop, then take control of the situation. If you're so desperate to get away from me, then kick me away and run," Mink tilts his head as he looks down on Aoba, as if considering what to do next. Then he seems to decide, and reaches down to choke him, one-handed.

"I told you..." Aoba's intake of breath sends a quiet alarm bell ringing in the back of Mink's mind, and he almost stumbles in his rush to silence him. "To fucking quit it!"

His voice reverberates in the small room, ringing clear and hollow. A vicious pain unleashes itself in Mink's head, and he falls to his knees before he can get a hold of Aoba, groaning in agony. Aoba scampers away from him as if he still expects the blows to come, and Mink manages a laugh through the blinding shock of pain. 

"You're finally getting it, aren't you? It's enough to make me really believe that you were faking that whole persona earlier," Mink tries to stand, but Aoba is still staring him down and he finds he cannot move. His muscles lock into place while spasms of pain travel down from his head to his feet; they pass and he thinks to attack Aoba again, but as soon as the thought crosses his mind, the pain returns in full.

"I..." Aoba is breathless. "I told you to stop, didn't I?"

"You did, didn't you," Mink grunts with effort, attempting to stand again. This time the pain passes and he is able, but he can do little else and simply remains standing, staring at Aoba blankly. He finds it hard to be angry, now, and he thinks of Toue. He steps over the upturned chair and offers a hand down to Aoba, who does little more than stare stupidly.

"I'm not attacking you. You stopped me, didn't you?" Aoba nods weakly, and grabs his hand. Mink pulls him to his feet and he keeps his grip a beat too long, squeezing, testing his limits. The pain nibbles at the back of his mind, and he releases Aoba, who holds his hand to his chest, shocked.

"Did you... feel that?"

"The pain?" Mink feels unexpectedly calm. 

"The shock. Like... it was electric."

"No." There is little else to say, but Aoba shifts closer and whispers, as if telling a friend a secret. Mink cannot find it in himself just then to care enough to scorn him for that.

"And Toue? You thought of him too, right?"

Mink nods, and wonders vaguely if he is simply imagining the thin smile on Aoba's face, and the white, white teeth. It passes as quickly as it had come. "Toue. We need to destroy him," Aoba murmurs, eyes bright.

"That's what I brought you here for. To destroy. But are you really ready?" Mink asks.

"I am," Aoba nods, affirming. "We'll do it. Together. Tomorrow, right?"

Mink looks into Aoba's eyes. They are red-rimmed but they are _vibrant_ now, filled with a frantic sort of excitement. His skin is a sickly sort of pale, covered by purple bruises scattered across his face, his neck, and his collar, more leading all the way across his body. Red marks show where Mink had just grabbed him a second ago, but his skin seems to glow underneath the ugliness of it all.

Mink realizes it then. That Aoba had begun to defy everything that had happened to him so far. Rejecting it, all at once, or otherwise accepting Mink's words, absolving them, changing himself. Shifting into a different person.

"Yeah. Tomorrow, we'll kill Toue. And tomorrow, my journey ends."


End file.
